After days of glaring sunny days, monsoons are at your doorsteps. It is bringing rain and a much-needed relief from the scorching summer heat. However, this season also brings in a hue of health problems. Seasonal colds, flu, typhoid, mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, and dengue, and stomach infections are some of the common health effects of monsoons.
The gloomy weather and a constant craving for fritters and fried food make it quite challenging to maintain a healthy diet.
So, it becomes highly important to make mindful food choices while also enjoying your food in such a way that it nourishes your well-being.
In this article, we will discuss why you should have mindful eating habits and what you should eat and avoid to keep yourself healthy.
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Why Mindful Eating Matters During Monsoon:
Monsoon brings in a set of health-related problems.
Let’s know why your mindful eating habits become quite important during this season.
1. Low Immunity:
In monsoons, our immune system gets weak, which makes us more vulnerable to different types of infections. So, adopting mindful eating habits ensures that you intake the proper amount of nutrients to stay healthy.
2. Digestive Problems:
With changes in season and eating habits, we often find ourselves struggling with digestive problems. However, mindful eating ensures you take digestible food items to avoid any dietary issues.
3. Comfort Food Craving:
We often find ourselves craving comfort food while it’s raining outside. Whether it is fritters, fried snacks, or curries. However, these eating habits can disturb your bowel movement.
Mindful eating helps you make healthy food choices while satisfying your cravings.
Mindful Eating Tips for a Balanced Monsoon Diet:
Let us know how you can adopt proper eating habits in this rainy monsoon season.
Here are some tips for mindful eating for a balanced monsoon diet:
1. Plan Your Meals:
Plan your meals in advance. Do not wait for your hungry stomach to cry before preparing your meal. Also, include monsoon’s green leafy vegetables, and seasonal and fresh ingredients in your meals.
2. Start Small:
Everything starts with a small step. Start your journey with small portions and pay attention to how your body reacts to the changes.
If you still feel hungry after having your meals, then you can consider adding a little more to your diet.
3. Eat Slowly and Savourly:
You don’t need to hurry while eating your meals. Eat each of your bites slowly and savourly. Avoid any kind of distraction, and concentrate on the taste, texture, and aroma of your food.
4. Listen to Your Stomach Cries:
You don’t have to eat just because you are bored or it’s time for you to have your meals. Eat when your stomach feels hungry, listen to your stomach cry.
5. Proper Hydration:
Drink ample amounts of water to keep yourself hydrated and to avoid any unnecessary food cravings.
( Read More – 8 Food Items to Boost Your Immunity as We Transition to Summer )
Foods To Include In Your Monsoon Diet:
It’s important to have proper food groups in your balanced diet. So, that you live an ensured healthy life.
Here’s a list of food items that you should consider while mindful eating during monsoons:
1. Fruits:
Seasonal fruits like jamun, pear, plum, apples, papaya, etc. have multiple nutrients within them. These fruits support your body’s increasing demand for nutrients, improve digestion, and boost your immune system.
2. Vegetables:
Monsoon is the time of green leafy vegetables and gourds like bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ash gourd, tomatoes, okra, etc. Including seasonal vegetables in your daily diet helps in improving bowel movement, gut health, and the immune system.
3. Spices:
Spices and herbs have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-bacterial powers. That is why you should add them to your diet, they improve your immune system by defending off the pathogens from your body.
4. Garlic:
Garlic is an important diet partner that helps your body combat the common cold and viral flu. Garlic’s work is to safeguard your heavenly body from any type of viral attack.
Foods to Avoid During Monsoon:
We have already discussed what food items you should mindfully eat during monsoons. However, there are few food items and eating habits that you should avoid for your health’s sake.
1. Eating outside:
Monsoon is a season when there’s a high chance of bacterial and fungal growth on your food. So, avoid eating at street food stalls.
2. Fried food:
Monsoon is the season of having fritters, and fried food items. And it’s totally fine if you eat fried items occasionally in moderate amounts.
however you should avoid eating excessive fried food as it can lead to several bodily problems like indigestion, bloating, diarrhoea, and a few others.
3. Limit seafood:
There is a high chance of waterborne diseases and water contamination during this season. Fishes and seafood can work as carriers of such infections.
So, it is advised to avoid eating seafood during monsoons.
Conclusion:
Enjoy every bit of the rainy season. Eat mindfully to avoid any health issues. And make sure you take good care of your meals and include all the mentioned food items in your diet.
Enjoy a happy and healthy monsoon.